Pallet

ABSTRACT

A pallet ( 112, 200 ) is disclosed as including a honeycomb-structure layer ( 100 ) sandwiched between two outer layers and a number of legs ( 110 ) supporting the honeycomb-structure layer ( 100 ) and outer layers.

This invention relates to a pallet for supporting articles in a stable manner, e.g. while being lifted by a mobile forklift or other jacking devices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The advent of containers for the transport of various goods has spurred the use of pallets, as containers offer the clean and level surfaces which make the use of pallets economical. Pallets have hitherto been made of various materials, e.g. softwood, wood, paper or the like. People in the relevant field have long been seeking to design pallets of a higher load bearing capacity with no significant increase in cost.

It is thus an objective of the present invention to provide an improved pallet which meets such a requirement, or at least to provide a useful alternative to the trade or public.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, there is provided a pallet including a honeycomb-structure layer sandwiched between a first outer layer and a second outer layer; and a plurality of leg members supporting said honeycomb-structure layer and outer layers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of examples only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of part of a pallet according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a pallet according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, incorporating the part shown in FIG. 1:

FIGS. 3 to 7 are sectional views showing the way in which corners of the pallets according to the present invention are covered;

FIGS. 8 and 9 show the way in which edges of the pallets according to the present invention are covered;

FIG. 10 is a top view of a pallet according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a side view of the pallet shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a bottom view of the pallet shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a partial sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG. 12; and

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing the way in which a plurality of stacks of water bottles are supported by the pallet shown in FIG. 10.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows the structure of part of a pallet according to the present invention. This part includes a honeycomb-structure layer 100 sandwiched between two outer layers, each including a sheet of corrugated paper 102 and a fibrous layer 104 bonded with each other. The fibrous layer 104 and the sheet of corrugated paper 102 bonded with it are fixedly engaged with the honeycomb-structure layer 100 by a layer of adhesive material 106.

The sheets of corrugated paper 102 are surface-treated recycled paper, e.g. coated with a plastics layer for waterproof purposes, and for increasing its capacity for loading and against tearing.

The layers of adhesive material 106 may be made of phenolic resin, epoxy resin, white glue, all-purpose adhesive, or thermosetting resin.

As to the honeycomb-structure layer 100, such includes a number of regular hexagonal prisms 108 arranged in a honeycomb-like manner, i.e. with the prisms 108 closely packed with one another and with all their longitudinal axes parallel to one another. The longitudinal axes of said prisms 108 are substantially perpendicular to the major surfaces of the sheets of corrugated paper 102 and fibrous layers 104. The prisms 108 may be hollow, but may also be filled, for example, by polyurethane (PU).

The honeycomb-structure layer 100 is made of a paper material (such as corrugated paper), aluminium, aluminium alloy, plastics material or a composite material, or a combination of at least two of such materials. The plastics material may be polypropylene (PP) or polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and the composite material is a resin incorporated with fibreglass, in which the resin may be phenolic resin, epoxy resin, or a thermosetting resin.

As to the fibrous layers 104, such are made of a fibrous material and at least a paper material, a resin, fibre paper or fibre cardboard, and engineered wood. The fibrous material may be fibreglass, basalt fibre, Fanglun fibre, carbon fibre or plant fibre, or a combination thereof. The plant fibre may be wood fibre, bamboo fibre or hemp fibre, or a combination thereof. The fibrous material is of at least 20 wt. % of the fibrous layer 104.

The paper material is surface-treated corrugated paper board or surface-treated corrugated board; the resin is phenolic resin, epoxy resin, or a thermosetting resin; the fibre cardboard includes density fibreboard, such as low-density fibreboard, medium-density fibreboard or high-density fibreboard; and the engineered wood may be plywood or fibreboard.

The part of pallet shown in FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. 2 as being fixed on and supported by a number of legs 110 to form a pallet generally designated as 112. In FIG. 2, the upper layer of adhesive material 106 and the upper outer layer, comprising the sheet of corrugated paper 102 and fibrous layer 104, are collectively represented as a single composite layer 114.

The legs 110 may be made of at least one of a paper material (e.g. corrugated paper), a plastics material, a wood material, bamboo, a density fibreboard and a composite material, e.g. an epoxy resin, phenolic resin, or a thermosetting resin incorporated with fibreglass. The wood material may be an engineered wood in strip form, sheet form or board form. The density fibreboard may be low-density fibreboard, medium-density fibreboard or high-density fibreboard.

Corners 116 and edges 118 of the pallet 112 are covered for protection purposes. FIGS. 3 to 7 show various ways in which corners 116 of the pallet 112 may be covered. In the examples shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, covering parts 120 a, 120 b, 120 c which are subsequently wrapped over the corners 116 of the pallet 112 are formed integrally with the composite layers 114.

In the example shown in FIG. 6, the covering part 120 d is rectangular in shape and is wrapped around the corner 116; and in the example shown in FIG. 7, the covering part 120 e is of a general V-shape, and is also wrapped around the corner 116.

The covering parts 120 a, 120 b, 120 c, 120 d, 120 e may be made of at least one of a paper material, aluminium alloy, wood, bamboo, or a composite material, e.g. an epoxy resin, phenolic resin, or a thermosetting resin incorporated with fibreglass.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show the ways in which edges 118 of the pallet 112 may be covered for protection purposes.

FIGS. 10 to 14 show a pallet according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention, generally designated as 200. The composition of materials for forming the pallet 200 is as described above in relation to the pallet 112.

A major difference between the pallet 200 and the pallet 112 is that on an upper surface 202 of the pallet 200 are formed a number of circular recesses 204 each for receiving a bottom of a bottle for distilled water. On a lower surface 206 of the pallet 200 are formed four legs 208 and a number of circular recesses 210 (which are of a diameter smaller than that of the recesses 204) each for receiving a top of a bottle for distilled water. Thus, as shown in FIG. 14, several stacks of water bottles 220 are supported by the pallets 200 for transport or storage.

It is found that pallets according to the present invention possess the following advantages:

waterproof;

acid-proof;

alkali-proof;

environmentally friendly;

a higher load bearing capacity, as compared with existing pallets of the same weight;

a higher tensile strength and resilience;

lighter in weight;

minimizes the growth of pesticides in wood; and

reusable.

It should be understood that the above only illustrates and describes examples whereby the present invention may be carried out, and that modifications and/or alterations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention.

It should also be understood that certain features of the invention, which are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment may also be provided or separately or in any suitable sub-combination. 

1. A pallet including: a honeycomb-structure layer sandwiched between a first outer layer and a second outer layer; and a plurality of leg members supporting said honeycomb-structure layer and outer layers; an upper surface with a plurality of recesses adapted to receive the bottoms of a plurality of water bottles; a lower surface with a plurality of recesses adapted to receive the tops of a plurality of water bottles; each said outer layer is fixedly engaged with said honeycomb-structure layer by an adhesive material; each said outer layer comprises at least (a) a layer of corrugated paper board or corrugated board and (b) a fibrous layer; said honeycomb-structure layer includes a plurality of regular hexagonal prisms arranged in a honeycomb-like manner; said honeycomb-structure layer is made at least of a material selected from a group including paper material, aluminium, aluminium alloy, a plastics material and a composite material.
 2. (canceled)
 3. The pallet according to claim 2 wherein said adhesive material is selected from a group including phenolic resin, epoxy resin, white glue, all-purpose adhesive, and thermosetting resin.
 4. (canceled)
 5. The pallet according to claim 1 wherein said fibrous layer is made of a fibrous material and paper material.
 6. The pallet according to claim 5 wherein said fibrous material is fibreglass.
 7. The pallet according to claim 36 wherein said plant fibre is selected from a group including wood fibre, bamboo fibre and hemp fibre.
 8. The pallet according to claim 5 wherein said paper material is corrugated paper board corrugated board.
 9. The pallet according to claim 8 wherein said corrugated paper board or corrugated board is surface-treated.
 10. The pallet according to claim 30 wherein said resin is selected from a group including phenolic resin, epoxy resin, and a thermosetting resin.
 11. The pallet according to claim 31 wherein said fibre cardboard includes density fibreboard.
 12. The pallet according to claim 32 wherein said engineered wood is plywood.
 13. The pallet according to claim 12 wherein said fibreboard is selected from a group including low-density fibreboard, medium-density fibreboard and high-density fibreboard.
 14. The pallet according to claim 5 wherein said fibrous material is of at least 20 wt. % of the fibrous layer.
 15. (canceled)
 16. The pallet according to claim 1 wherein at least one of said prisms is hollow.
 17. The pallet according to claim 1 wherein at least one of said prisms is filled at least partly with polyurethane.
 18. The pallet according to claim 1 wherein the longitudinal axes of said prisms are substantially perpendicular to the major surfaces of the outer layers.
 19. (canceled)
 20. The pallet according to claim 1 wherein said plastics material is selected from a group including polypropylene (PP) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
 21. The pallet according to claim 1 wherein said composite material is a resin incorporated with fibreglass.
 22. The pallet according to claim 1 wherein said resin is selected from a group including phenolic resin, epoxy resin, and a thermosetting resin.
 23. The pallet according to claim 1 wherein said leg members are made of at least one material selected from a group including corrugated papers a composite material, a plastics material, a wood material, a bamboo material and density fibreboard.
 24. The pallet according to claim 23 wherein said composite material is a resin incorporated with fibreglass.
 25. The pallet according to claim 24 wherein said resin is phenolic resin.
 26. The pallet according to claim 23 wherein said wood material is an engineered wood in strip form.
 27. The pallet according to claim 23 wherein said density fibreboard is low-density fibreboard.
 28. (canceled)
 29. (canceled)
 30. The pallet according to claim 1 wherein said fibrous layer is made of a fibrous material and a resin.
 31. The pallet according to claim 1 wherein said fibrous layer is made of a fibrous material and a fibre paper or cardboard.
 32. The pallet according to claim 1 wherein said fibrous layer is made of a fibrous material and engineered wood.
 33. The pallet according to claim 5 wherein said fibrous material is basalt fiber.
 34. The pallet according to claim 5 wherein said fibrous material is Fanglun fiber.
 35. The pallet according to claim 5 wherein said fibrous material is carbon fiber.
 36. The pallet according to claim 5 wherein said fibrous material is plant fiber.
 37. The pallet according to claim 5 wherein said engineered wood is fibreboard.
 38. The pallet according to claim 24 wherein said resin is epoxy resin.
 39. The pallet according to claim 24 wherein said resin is thermosetting resin.
 40. The pallet according to claim 23 wherein said wood material is an engineered wood in sheet form.
 41. The pallet according to claim 23 wherein said wood material is an engineered wood in board form.
 42. The pallet according to claim 23 wherein said density fibreboard is medium-density fibreboard.
 43. The pallet according to claim 23 wherein said density fibreboard is high-density fibreboard. 